


Why won't you notice me?

by xserenity



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [12]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Avoidance, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Nightwing plush, hurt!jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 23:10:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12781665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xserenity/pseuds/xserenity
Summary: “You idiot,” he jeered, turquoise eyes meeting the toys’ masked ones as he shook him, annoyed. “Why do you always ignore me?” He roared, raising his voice at the small stuffed Nightwing, acted as if it had offended him when really he was reprimanding the actual person. Though he couldn’t quite say it to his face so he resorted to letting off his steam at a replica.





	Why won't you notice me?

**Author's Note:**

> Anon asked: "Ooh can u write a pre-slash Jaydick that leads up to slash? With jason being upset/jealous because dick is avoiding him? Or maybe something angsty with dick breaking up with jay in order to protect him or something idk. Your choice ^^"

Jason sighed heavily and squeezed the Nightwing plush in his hands. He poked and probed at it, pinching its cheeks and wiggling its arms and legs.  

“ _You idiot,_ ” he jeered, turquoise eyes meeting the toys’ masked ones as he shook him, annoyed. “Why do you always ignore me?” He roared, raising his voice at the small stuffed Nightwing, acted as if it had offended him when really he was reprimanding the  _actual_  person. Though he couldn’t quite say it to his face so he resorted to letting off his steam at a replica.

“Seriously!” Jason growled and pulled at Nightwing’s arms, twisting and turning him in all sorts of directions since the thing was just filled with cotton. “You always _ignore_  me when I try to talk to you. But you give Tim and Damian  _all the time_  in the world,” he murmured and huffed a breath, collapsing back against the couch. He enveloped his arms around the plush and hugged it tight to his chest, before he decided to punish him by biting his shoulder.

“Ugh,” he grumbled and jerked upright. Jason was restless, had trouble containing his emotions after a rough night of once again being ignored by his precious pseudo-brother.

The Red Hood had been out on patrol tonight when he ran into Nightwing, Robin  _and_ Red Robin. They briefly teamed up together since the perpetrator they were after were one in the same. Things had gone well despite all the bickering and when Jason went to speak to them, specifically Dick, the man turned away and instead, placed all his attention on his younger brothers. He was complimenting them, telling them they did a job well done while on the other hand,  _overlooking_  Jason even though he did a large chunk of the fighting.

That pissed Jason off and seeing that Dick was still continuing to ignore him as he stood there, he swiftly left. He was slightly embarrassed about his actions, overstepping his boundaries by attempting to act chummy when he wasn’t at all close with them, so he just came back to his safe house to mope.

Things weren’t always rosy when Jason came back to life, but they’d long since fixed their relationship. However, Dick still seemed to be on the fence about him. He initially started off fine, joking along with Jason when they occasionally worked together. But then slowly, he started to distance himself to the point where he completely disregarded him. And that fucking annoyed the hell out of Jason. All he wanted was to just get along with the man, chat with him a few times, but the fact that he wouldn’t give him a single moment upset Jason.

And this purely had nothing to do with the feelings he held for Dick.  _None at all_ , at least that’s what he kept trying to tell himself. He knew he couldn’t have Dick, that the man would never come to like him that way. So all he really wanted was to just get along with him, but Dick was being a  _dick._

Sighing for the umpteenth time, he scrubbed a hand down his face and gazed at the Nightwing plush again. He’d had it for a while now, having bought it purely as a joke since he happened to see it while he was shopping for some supplies.

He was surprised by the quality of the plush, didn’t notice it until now. He examined the toy, admiring how nicely sewn he was, that pretty black and blue uniform shining through, mimicking the original Nightwing’s exact design. He even had a stupid smile, all happy and bright and the stripes of his fingers were also there. Jason’s couldn’t believe the manufacturers had put so much detail into him though it made sense considering the hero himself was popular and quite well known.

But just looking at the thing pissed Jason off so he slammed it to the ground, got up and stepped on it, rubbed his heel on his stomach before he disappeared to his bedroom.

Brooding wasn’t going to help so he might as well force himself to sleep. At least that way, he could let all his emotions flow away.

\-----

Jason swore he had the worst luck ever. He’d already had quite a shitty childhood and then died, was reborn again. One would think the cycle would have ended, but no, his bad luck just never seemed to stay away, attached onto him like a virus.

Thankfully the shot he’d sustained during a crossfire wasn’t life threatening. He wasn’t even on patrol or anything of that spectrum. The man had been out on a grocery run and as he was crossing the street, there had been a drive by shooting. One of the ladies who was out in the open was in their line of shot so Jason jumped into shield her and ended up getting hit himself. 

Of course the lady was panicking about the blood oozing from his arm, soaking into his shirt in splotches, but he had to reassure her it was fine. He couldn’t very well go to the hospital since he’s  _legally_  dead, so they wouldn’t have any records of him. That would be too difficult to deal with so his only choice was to sneak away before the cops would show up despite the fact that the few witnesses that had been nearby were attempting to call the ambulance and trying to get him to stop.

But Jason was stubborn and refused, ran as soon as he spotted an opening.

Now he was currently marginally drugged up at his safe house after having fixed up his own wound. Luckily the bullet only grazed his arm and he didn’t have to operate on himself or  _worse_ , call up Alfred for help. He didn’t want to bother the butler if he didn’t have to.

Jason was resting in bed with pillows propped up against the headboard and had the TV on, volume high and blasting into his room. His mind was slightly dazed and he was rather lethargic, had no energy and felt a bit woozy. Probably took too high of a douse.

Every so often, turquoise eyes would travel down to his arm, glancing to check his bandages and see if it’d bled through. It sort of was leaking and his bandages were also slowly unraveling, fraying at the edges from the poor job he’d done. Wrapping an arm one handed was not as easy as people made it sound.

But he didn’t have the drive to care for it and exhaled heavily, sinking back into the soft mattress and pillows and tugged at his covers. A hand searched blindly underneath his stack of pillows, probing for something specific. When he’d found it, he gripped the item in his hand and pulled it out to settle in his lap, wrapped arm around it to cuddle it close to his chest.

“At least you’re good for one thing,” Jason murmured and stroked Nightwing’s head. It was soft and fuzzy and at least this version didn’t ignore him.

Content, Jason returned his attention back to the TV and let the time tick by as he watched a thriller film until he passed out.

\-----

Jason slowly woke from his deep slumber, a bit dazed and muddled. The drugs must have kicked in and took him under because he felt well rested, although still a bit sluggish. But the pain in his arm was still there, pulsing ever few seconds.

A soft sigh escaped into the air and his attention fell onto the only source of life, the TV. Apparently he’d fell asleep with it still on. The sun had already set, darkness filtering into the room and he’d realized he’d slept most of the day.

 _Great_ , now his sense of timing was off. But it’s not as if he had it in the first place anyways considering his schedule was out of the ordinary.

As he shifted on his bed, pressed his palms against the mattress and attempted to sit up, his eyes caught sight of his arm and noticed the bandages had been changed. It was clean, not a single patch of blood in sight and it was also neatly wrapped, tied carefully and pressed flush to his arm, not too tight or loose.

_Who—?_

His inquiry was answered when the person in question entered the room with a glass of water. The intruder had messy dark hair and was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a simple grey hoodie. Vivid blue eyes fell upon him and immediately, a smile broke out onto his face.

“Jason.”  _Fucking hell_ , it was Dick Grayson. What was he doing here?

Jason was oddly confused and pinched his brows, trying to comprehend why the first Robin was currently in his safe house. In  _hi_ s room, casually dressed and was holding one of his favorite cups like he owned the place.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked, watching closely as the man tapped the door shut with his foot and approached his bed side. There was already a chair stationed right beside him and a blanket draped over the seat. Had he been here for a while?

“I heard you were injured,” Dick said and gathered the blanket from off the chair before settling himself back in. He then stretched out an arm and handed the glass of water to Jason. “Take it.” He gestured at him and also revealed the set of pills that’d been hiding in his other hand. 

Jason narrowed his eyes at him, still confused, but took it from him anyways. He tossed the pills into his mouth, swiftly swallowed them and washed it down with water. Dick plucked the cup from his fingers and set it down onto his nightstand.

“How’d you know I was injured?”

“News. I saw it online and I knew you lived around here and the lady you saved was freaking out. Hence I called, but you didn’t answer your phone and I got worried so I came to check,” Dick simply stated and smiled fondly at him. 

“I see,” Jason said and huffed a breath, unsure what else to say to that. There were a million questions stewing in his mind and he wanted to let them all out, but didn’t exactly want to chase Dick away just yet so he held off.

“Are you doing okay?” Dick asked and furrowed his brows in concern.

Now _this_  was unusual. Being specially treated by the boy wonder and having him be worried for his well-being wasn’t something Jason was used to. Nor had he experienced it much either. 

“I’m fine. Just a graze.”

“I saw. I uh—hope you don’t mind, but I fixed up your bandage. It was coming undone.“ 

“Yeah, thanks,” Jason said and glanced around the room awkwardly, thinking about what he wanted to ask Dick before he settled his gaze back on the man. Dick was sitting up straight, hands on his knees and tilting slightly forward. His lips were tugged into a small smile and he was watching Jason closely, a hint of distress filling his blue eyes. “So—” he started and cleared his throat. “What exactly are you doing here?”

Dick blinked, slightly taken aback by that question. “I said I came to check on you.”

“Yeah, but  _why?_ ” That was really the one answer he was looking for. Why? Why now? Why come visit him when he was down and injured when all of the other times he’d ignored him? Didn’t pay him a single attention?

The smile on Dick’s face faltered and his eyes darkened as he pulled his lips into a thin line, deep in thought. The worry had disappeared, replaced by one of confusion, seemingly a bit surprised at that curve ball that Jason threw at him. It was almost as if Dick himself didn’t understand why.

As the older man dwelled in his thoughts, possibly trying to come up with an answer to his question. Jason sat there silently and shuffled on his bed, attempting to prop himself up properly. As he moved about, restacking the pillows behind his back, his hand pressed onto something firm. Lifting his arm up, he spotted the Nightwing plush that’d somehow gotten lost in the tangle of mess he’d created. Slowly, he lifted it up and was going to attempt to hide it away before Dick saw but it was too late.

“Is that me?” Dick asked and pointed at the object held in Jason’s hands.  _Busted._

He couldn’t very well deny it now that it was out in the open. “Yeah,” he answered and brought it into his lap as he turned around to face the first Robin. “ _It’s you,_ ” he said forlornly and curled his fingers around its waist, held it tight and started playing with its arms.

“ _Oh,_ ” Dick whispered. 

An awkward silence filled the air as neither said a word. Jason had redirected his gaze to the Nightwing plush, felt more at ease staring at something that was inanimate rather than the real thing himself. Those pretty blue eyes of his were too much for Jason sometimes, expressive enough that he could almost read all of his emotions.

Jason heard the floor creak and suddenly felt the bed dip to the side. He jerked his head up and gawked at the man who was now only a few inches away from him. Dick stretched an arm out and flicked the plushie’s forehead. 

“I—” he started and then paused briefly, licked a tongue over his lips and sighed nervously. “I was worried about you,” he said and brought his eyes to meet Jason’s, holding his gaze still so the man wouldn’t break away. “I had to come check and see if you’re okay.”

“I get that but why? You don’t necessarily care about me,” Jason blurted, being completely blunt and pinched the toy’s arm, bringing its hand to slap at its own face. “You  _always_  ignore me.”

“I-I know,” Dick admitted and threaded a hand through his raven hair gently. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t exactly mean to.”

“What does that even mean?” Jason hissed, tone sharp. He wanted Dick to be honest and get to the point instead of beating around the bushes.

The man exhaled loudly and shrugged his shoulders. “ _Okay._  I suppose I did it on purpose, but it’s not because I hate you or anything Jason.”

“You sure seem like it considering you coddle the  _others_ ,” he jabbed out of jealousy. It was petty, he knew, but he was upset about it. Jason had done things wrong in the past, he’d admit to that, but he’d also taken the time to amend his actions. Not that he regretted all his actions because he didn’t, but there were certain ones he wished he hadn’t done. It was already in the past and all he could do was move on and not repeat his mistakes.

“I know. I do pay them more attention, but I just—they’re easier to handle.  _You_ , it’s hard,” Dick said, stuttering on his words and wasn’t that a first? He was always so confident in everything he did but right now, when confronted by Jason, he was faltering with his words.

“I don’t get what you’re getting at,” Jason scowled. “Get to the damn point Dick. If you’re here to insult me then  _leave._ ” He had no more patience for Dick’s delay tactics and if he was going to tell him that he couldn’t get along with him or whatever  _other_  bullshit, then he wanted him gone.

A look of horror crossed over Dick’s eyes and he scooted closer, closing the space to settle his hand on Jason’s. “ _No,_ I’m not here to insult you Jay,” he murmured ever so gently. “I—” he nibbled on his lower lip, struggling with whatever was fueled inside of his body. “I…” he whispered and breathed loudly, struggling to say what was on the tip of his tongue.

“Out with it,” Jason grumbled, vexed. What was it that Dick wanted to say that was giving him such a hard time to express? 

Blue eyes rolled off to the side, glancing down at the little Nightwing plush still in Jason’s lap before he returned and settled himself back on Jason. With a firm expression, Dick brought a hand and cupped Jason’s cheek and before he knew it, before he could react or say a word, their lips met. 

The kiss was brief, but it was chaste and sweet. Dick’s lips were soft as he kissed him gingerly, stroked a thumb under his eye, and slipped his fingers around his ear, pinching tenderly as the tips of his fingers dove into his hair.

“I like you,” he mumbled and pressed their foreheads together, lips hovering just a mere centimeters away. “ _I like you_ ,” he repeated more confidently this time.

“You like me?” Jason repeated, a bit confused, and slightly dazed from the unexpected kiss.

“Yeah. I—um,” Dick murmured and then drew in a shaky breath. “I avoided you because I like you. And I,  _well,_  I thought it would be bad if we continued interacting.”

“Because I’m problematic?” Jason asked, a bit offended if that was the case.

“ _No,_ ” Dick immediately shut down that thought. “No, that’s not it,” he said and kissed him again, a little more desperate this time in hopes of getting his feelings across to Jason. “It’s because I was  _afraid_. I didn’t want to mess it up.”

“What?" 

"You know I have a good knack at fucking up relationships. I didn’t want to repeat it again. So I figured it was better if I just distanced myself from you. It was—it was difficult having to, but it was harder being near you. So I just,  _I don’t know_ , did what I thought was best.”

Jason sighed loudly and rolled his eyes at the man in disbelief. Couldn’t believe that was the thought process going on inside his mind. The reason itself was so silly and Jason couldn’t comprehend the fear that was coursing through Dick to make him react that way. But he supposed it wasn’t something that he would personally understand considering he’d never really dated much before.

“You’re so dumb Dickiebird,” Jason said, lips tugging into a smirk. “I can’t believe you.”

“ _Hey!_ ” he said, insulted. “I didn’t exactly want to lose you or get my ego kickedagain. Honestly,I don’t know what it is but I always mess up one way or another and people dump me,” Dick grumbled, a look of hurt briefly passing through his eyes.

Jason pressed a thumb to his pretty lips, held him close and leaned in to kiss him. “Well they were stupid to do it,” he said and kissed him again, more fervently this time. “If they won’t have you, then  _I will_ ,” Jason said and Dick chuckled at that remark.

“But I might make you mad.”

“You already piss me off.”

“I guess that’s taken care of then,” he joked and then distanced himself a bit from Jason as he turned his attention away and picked up the toy resting in his lap. “Though you have a little version of me to yell at.” There was an amused smile gracing his lips as he played with the plush and wiggled it around, examining its outfit. “It’s pretty spot on,” he murmured under his breath, a bit surprised at the quality of the stuffed toy, as Jason had been the other day.

“Yeah and trust me, I do yell at it. He is my personal outlet,” Jason said and pinched its cheek. “He listens well.”

“You know you can just yell at me if I make you angry right?”

“Yeah but you’d yell back.”

“Jay—” Dick said and leveled his eyes at him. “I’m  _serious._  If you have an issue, please talk to me about it.” This was probably being sprung about due to his poor relationships. “I want to communicate better with you. I…I want our relationship to flourish.”

And Jason did as well, so he supposed the first thing they needed to overcome was being able to express their emotions. Which included ones that they often kept to themselves and he knew that Dick was the master at that. Always kept his issues in, letting it boil until it just burst open. He needed to improve on that and maybe it was something they could work on together. 

“We’ll both have to work on communicating then,” Jason said and Dick laughed at him, nodding his head in agreement because it was the honest truth.

“So—” Dick settled his eyes on Jason again and wrapped the Nightwing plush close against his chest as his little persona settled in his lap. That was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen Dick do and he wished he could snap a picture right now, but he had no clue where his phone was at. He was about to search for it, he was interrupted as Dick finished his comment. “How do you feel about me?“ He asked with a small smirk on his lips, teasing the man gently since he probably knew his answer already. Jason just rolled his eyes at him in amusement and smiled back.

"Let me show you,” he said as he curled a hand behind Dick’s neck, fingers tangling in his soft hair and pulled him into a bruising kiss as their lips met in a fiery passion.

They fell against the bed, limbs tangled in one another as they kissed the night away, soft murmurs and moans filtering into the still air.


End file.
